From transforming daily commutes to bridging the gap for non-cyclists, e-bikes are the most significant evolution in cycling since the mountain bike—and that’s a win for all.
Why not evolve all the way and get a motorcycle?
Riding my e-bike is still a physical workout, just one that takes me further than my regular bike. I can take bike paths or forest paths and don’t have to always use the roads. E-bikes are quiet.
Are there any clear winners in this space to consider? Shopping for ebikes feels like going on amazon to shop. Lots of options of dubious pedigree
I have a class 2 ebike and i’ve gone from 0km on bicycle per week to roughly 60km on bicycle per week. It gave me the boost i need for hill and slope as i live in hilly place, and it also help me lug grocery for the short grocery run, while also help me with my cardio and some exercise as i still need to pedal, and help with my mood. It enable me to skip the traffic line and straight to the front row, and skip looking for parking at peak hour.
I’ve seen all sort of people on an ebike going their business, all independent from car. I’ve also have a lady asking me about ebike because she doesn’t want to rely on her son to fetch her everyday. All these in a country with little to no bike infrastructure and mostly not having public transport. It’s a straight upgrade from the greatest micromobility tool human ever created, and it’s made accessible for everyone.
Though i must say, class 1 and 2 ebike are real bike, beyond that it’s a moped with pedal.
I’m a runner who cycle commutes to keep my fitness up. I never loved cycling, but I preferred it to the bus. I did over 20,000 kms (12,500 miles) over the years on my road bike, and basically never touched it outside of commuting.
Then I got an ebike. I’ve fallen in love with cycling now and cycle everywhere at the slightest excuse. I’m doing far more mileage, and riding for fun, and utility as well as commuting.
I live in a really popular cycling area which is very mountainous. Ebikes have massively changed the demographic of cyclists here. I would normally never have seen anyone over 50 cycling here because it’s too arduous for most people
Now it’s not unusual to see an octogenarian tootling up the mountain passes on an ebike, and it’s even nicer to see so many people smiling when they’re cycling, instead of the stone-faced lycra crowd
I ride an ebike to work and to the grocery store when I feel like it and I think it’s great.
I got a ride1up Turris. It tops out at 28 mph, which feels like a good pace on a bicycle. When the weather is nice, I use it to commute about 15 miles round trip to work, which requires about 0.4 kWh of electricity and a little over 20 minutes each way. This is compared to about 0.7 gallons of gas and about 15 minutes each way in my 20 year old truck.
So, if I charge the battery half at home and half at work, I pay about 10 cents a day for energy for the bike vs about $3 a day for the truck.
I hope lots of people start commuting on ebikes, given their decreasing cost. it would be a great way to reduce our carbon footprint and get a little exercise. It’s just the right amount of exertion where I feel like I get my blood flowing but don’t get to work all sweaty and gross.
I want to be a fan of ebikes. I actively looked for one for over 6 months and then I bought a regular bike. Majority of ebikes are far too heavy. Ebike manufacturers are focusing on long distances and only high end very expensive bikes are light.
I’m generally a fan. I see a lot more people biking around my suburban sprawling American city, and I’ve noticed the majority now are ebikes. Probably half of those are cargo bikes, so they really seem to be enabling more trips outside a car, and that’s pretty great.
Ebikes are electric motorcycles.
Well technically true, ebike can mean electric motorcycle and electric bicycle.
There is a massive spectrum of electric moving things and the terms are sadly not very clear.
Electric bicycles, mopeds and motorcycles are still all different things with some grey area. Their legal requirement and registration brackets in particular country are probably about the best divisions.
They’re bikes but I’m Marmite on them.
The people riding them are often inexperienced who can buy better performance without putting in the time to learn how to wield that. The number of mountain bikers I run into who pass closely on uphill sections only to slow down to a crawl at the slightest descent is infuriating.
Worse is the lime type bikes that allow complete cycling novices suddenly travel at 15mph on shared paths with absolutely no respect for anyone around them.
Marmite?
Something you either love or hate.
I’m pretty coriander on these new terms.
